It’s that time of the year again when we ask all our member clubs to think about nominating someone for the Executive. It is a stimulating body to work with, bringing together people from right around NZ and dealing with a wide range of outdoor recreation related issues.

Likewise, if you are passionate about outdoor recreation and you support the work we do, if you have time and skills you’d like to contribute - especially in policy, planning, law, or administration - FMC would love to have you on board. Get a member club to nominate you!

Nominations can be on this form, or a club may simply email its nominations directly to eo@fmc.org.nz, provided each nominee also sends an email consenting to the nomination. All nominations must be received by e-mail no later than 5pm on 7 April 2020.

FMC is calling all clubs to a General Meeting in Wellington on the evening of Friday 19 June 2020 to elect a new Patron. Immediately afterwards we will be launching our general election campaign, with our challenges to political parties and positions on outdoor recreation election issues.

Time and venue will be confirmed in the near future, and a formal notice will be sent to all club in due course.

FMC submitted against a grazing concession in the Haast River, adjacent to State Highway 6. The concession was granted for a three year term, with ostensibly strict conditions. The real test will be how well the conditions are complied with and how DOC deals with any breaches.

The concessionnaire is now required to fence the bush margin to keep stock out of the bush between the highway and the river flats. (The bush is generally part of Mt Aspiring National Park, and the current requirement to fence the edge of the highway had the effect of keeping stock IN the park). The concessionnaire is also required to build fences to DOC-approved standards, which we’ve been advised won’t allow bulldozing the fenceline, and to provide reasonable recreational access. The concessionnaire has offered stiles at all common access points.

We realise that DOC can’t constantly monitor this, but we can. If you’re travelling through the area and you notice stock in the forest, vegetation clearance for fences, or fences that inhibit logical access points, take some photos, identify the location and let us know.

The Milford Road was heavily damaged during the floods on 4 February 2020. Since then, it has partially reopened to bus convoys.

As to 16 March 2020, the road is reopening to all vehicles, at night only (5pm to 7.30am). During the day it will be bus convoys only while road repairs continue. The situation can change at short notice depending on weather and conditions. You are encouraged to check on the state of the road here prior to starting your trip.

FMC considers night openings to all vehicles a positive development for recreational users, and an acceptable solution for the time being. We will however keep monitoring the situation.

We would like to thank Milford Road Alliance's manager Kevin Thompson for taking the interests of recreational users to heart.

The Hollyford Road (not managed by NZTA) remains non-driveable. We understand repairs have not started yet; we will follow up on this as a separate item in the near future.

As summer draws to an end, we are hoping that many of you have been out and about, on short walks or expeditions alike, into the wilds of Fiordland.

If you have any track updates, route descriptions or comments, Moir's South editor Robin McNeill would love to hear from you! The guidebook has been long out of print, and second hand copies are proving as hard to find as the philosopher's stone. Robin is thus working on a fully revised new edition.

E-mail your contributions to robin@greatsouth.nz before June 2020.

We'd really like to encourage clubs and individual supporters who haven't entered before, or in recent years, to have a go in 2020. Club photo competitions are a great social event, building camaraderie and club spirit: as Sally Stockdale from Wakatipu TC says in her Wilderlife article. We've also created resources on "how to run a photo competition" which can help to make it easier to get things organised.

Even if your club isn't able to run a competition, we'd encourage you to consider entering a few images in the 'historic' category. It's a fantastic chance for clubs and members to sift through their archives, wander down memory lane, and enter classic historic images of recreation in our wild places, without needing to organise a competition.

All the information on how to enter is available on our website: www.fmc.org.nz/photo-competition/. Entries close for individual supporters on 1st September, and for FMC affiliated clubs on 15th September. If you have any questions, or would like help with your clubs' competition or entries, please contact photocomp@fmc.org.nz.

FMC's support to the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival means that schools are able to access a 45 minute selection of festival films for FREE. To register for the free films, please visit our website www.fmc.org.nz/members-area/nzmff/

Do you have spare spaces on any courses coming up? Consider getting in touch with other clubs in your region to see if they have keen people who might be able to help fill those courses up. It'll help keep costs down for all, provides opportunities for more people and helps build up inter-club relationships.. Why not give it a go?

FMC’s Executive deeply values the support received from the 90+ clubs that currently choose to affiliate; without the weight of your numbers and the mandate that comes with it, we simply could not do the work that FMC was set up to do.

We thank all our ‘fully declared’ clubs for paying FMC for each of their members. At this time of year, with FMC affiliation subs soon due, we appeal to partially affiliated clubs to consider the value that FMC brings to your club and it's members. We work hard on your behalf, and if your club sees the value, and is able to do so, we’d be very grateful for you to declare and pay for a few more members.

Alternatively, we’d appreciate you promoting ‘Top-Up’ membership to your club members, which allows individuals to make their own decision to give FMC just a little extra (www.fmc.org.nz/top-up/) Either way, we rely upon and appreciate your support, affiliation and other contributions, however big or small.

We've had a few queries from clubs about how they should respond to the global outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

If you're unwell, we suggest:

- skipping club night and staying at home
- staying out of your local gear store and shopping online instead
- avoiding staying in huts
- catching up on outdoor movies (there's heaps on YouTube)
- planning your next big summer trip.

The Ministry of Health website has some good guidelines about managing public gatherings while there are cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, and we encourage clubs to check them out.

For everyone else, your best defence against getting sick is basic hygiene and staying home when you're unwell (even if it's just a sniffle).